TL;DR (for busy specifiers)

Multiple brands are pushing greens/teals and nuanced blues for 2026 (hello Transformative Teal, Warm Eucalyptus, and a Dulux trio of blues), with supportive muddier earth tones and quiet neutrals.
Sherwin-Williams Colormix 2026 groups 48 hues into designer-friendly families you can actually build entire projects around.
Expect powdery pastels → sophisticated, earth tones → moodier, and blues → everywhere (Dulux went all-in with three).

What’s officially “in” so far (and who’s saying it)

WGSN + Coloro (pro forecast): 2026 Color of the Year: Transformative Teal; SS26 key colors skew kinetic and restorative. Great signal for hospitality/wellness concepts.
Paint brand picks (so far):
- Valspar: Warm Eucalyptus (soft herbaceous green)
- Behr: Hidden Gem (rich teal-leaning green)
- Dutch Boy: Melodious Ivory (buttery neutral)
- Minwax: Special Walnut (stain, warm wood note)
- Glidden: Warm Mahogany (grounded red)
Dulux (2026): Rhythm of Blues—first-ever three Colors of the Year (light, vibrant, and inky blues). If you needed permission to spec more blue in public spaces, this is it.
Sherwin-Williams (Colormix 2026): 4 palettes (48 hues) organized by color families—useful for whole-building narratives.

Why this matters for commercial: these aren’t just editorial vibes—brand COTYs and Colormix families drive stock upholstery colors, tile glazes, laminates, carpets, and readiness of finishes you’ll see in sampling programs next year.

Sector-by-sector: where these colors work hardest

1) Hospitality (lobbies, F&B, guestrooms)

Transformative Teal / Teal-greens → wayfinding accents, banquettes, tiled bars; pairs with walnut/bronze for evening mood. Keep gloss ≤15 for walls to control glare.
Dulux “ink blue” equivalent → VIP lounge ceilings, spa corridors; boosts perceived height and quiet.
Warm Eucalyptus & Warm Mahogany → dining niches, headboard walls; add melodious ivory or cream stone to lift.
Spec tip: choose upholstery in 100k+ double rubs; test blues/greens under 2700–3000K dining light to avoid gray-out.

2) Workplace (HQ, flex offices, amenity floors)

Powder/dusty blues from the Dulux trio → focus rooms and wellness areas; reduce visual noise vs. stark whites.
Muddier earth tones (Colormix 2026) → collaboration zones that feel residential-calm.
Hidden Gem/green family → biophilic anchors around planting zones and café hubs.
Spec tip: pair saturated walls with LRV 45–60 flooring for balanced luminance; maintain 30–50% background reflectance for camera-friendly video spaces.

3) Retail (flagships, specialty, beauty)

Vibrant blue (Dulux’s “Free Groove” vibe) → brand walls, POS backdrops for cool-tone products; use in controlled patches to avoid skin tone cast.
Warm neutrals + wood stains (Special Walnut) → merchandising fixtures that won’t fight SKUs; seasonal overlays sit cleanly on top.
Spec tip: prioritize 90+ CRI lighting near mirrors; test teal/green backdrops with color-critical packaging.

4) Healthcare & Wellness

Soft eucalyptus + ivory → waiting rooms, infusion bays; evidence shows green-blue families lower perceived stress. (Use brand-approved equivalents if Dulux isn’t your market.)
Teal accents → nurse stations/wayfinding; maintain high LRV contrast to support low-vision navigation (≥70% contrast between text and background). (General best practice; align to local codes.)

5) Multifamily / Mixed-use Amenities

Inky blue ceilings in lounges, screening rooms → compress + cozy; pair with brushed brass and boucle. Ideal Home
Warm Mahogany feature paint or leather tones in booths → rich, “club” energy without going dark everywhere. Young House Love

Palettes you can actually spec (with finish pairings)

Neo-Biophilic Calm
- Wall: Warm Eucalyptus (or SW analog)
- Accent: Transformative Teal
- Neutrals: Melodious Ivory, light oat textile
- Finishes: rift-cut white oak, brushed nickel
  Use in: wellness rooms, hospitality check-in. Coloro+1
Blue Rhythm, High/Low
- Ceiling/Accent: Inky Blue (Dulux “Slow Swing” vibe)
- Mid: Mellow Flow (powder blue)
- Pop: Free Groove (vibrant blue)
- Finishes: honed limestone, antique brass, midnight velvet
  Use in: lounges, retail focal bays. Ideal Home
Modern Heritage
- Feature: Warm Mahogany
- Ground: Special Walnut (stain)
- Balance: Melodious Ivory
- Metal: oil-rubbed bronze
  Use in: F&B booths, private dining, boardrooms. Forbes
Future-Forward Workplace
- Primary: Transformative Teal
- Companions: muddier pastels from Colormix 2026 (soft mauves/greens)
- Contrast: charcoal acoustic panels
- Texture: ribbed wood, woven mineral fiber
  Use in: innovation labs, huddle rooms. Sherwin-Williams

Practical spec notes (save yourself value-engineering pain)

Availability: COTY hues tend to show up in carpet, tile, laminates, upholstery lines the same year—check vendor “trend” books first to shorten lead times. (Correlated to brand launches above.)
Maintenance: Deep blues and teals hide scuffs better than cool whites/very light grays—which many designers are moving away from in 2026
Lighting: Teals skew gray under high-CCT (4000–5000K); test at your project’s CCT/CRI. Blues bloom under glossy finishes—prefer eggshell/matte on broad walls.
ADA/Accessibility: For signage and feature walls, aim for ≥70% contrast (or WCAG AA for environmental graphics).
Global rollouts: If Dulux/SW lines aren’t local, map via NCS/sRGB or ask vendors for cross-match decks.

Sources & further reading

WGSN/Coloro Transformative Teal (2026); SS26 key colors.
Sherwin-Williams Colormix 2026 (Anthology Vol. 2) + editorial coverage.
Brand COTYs 2026 roundups: Forbes, HGTV, The Spruce, Young House Love.
Dulux 2026: “Rhythm of Blues” (three Colors of the Year).
Editorial context: BHG predictions; designers moving away from cool whites/harsh grays.